A Puppy Named Mistletoe
by You'veGotMeAndJesus
Summary: Set after season 2. Damon, Stefan, Elena, and their friends have fought all kinds of "mythical" creatures, but the one creature Damon and Elena can't fight is a little puppy named Mistletoe. Join Damon and Elena on one of the scariest battles they've had to face yet: their feelings.
1. Chapter 1

***Author's Note: Hello, everyone! Welcome to my first ever Vampire Diaries fanfiction! I came up with this idea and I couldn't figure out what fandom to put it in, but I think this is the perfect fit! I've just started watching this show on Netflix and I am only about to finish season 2 right now. For that reason, this takes place a little bit after the end of season 2 (I'm bad at spoilers, I already sort of know what happens to Stefan). I hope you enjoy this Christmas story! Thanks for reading!**

Chapter one:

It was four days until Christmas and Elena Gilbert was finishing up some last-minute Christmas shopping. After everything that has happened with her family and her friends this year, especially with Stefan, she knew that celebrating the holidays was going to be really tough this year. Which was why she was determined to make the best of it. She went out to the store and bought all sorts of new Christmas decorations to hang around the house. After the house was officially hers, she went around in search of decorations but did not seem to find any. Apparently after celebrating Christmas for over one hundred years, one gets burned out on it. Or at least Damon does. Stefan always secretly loved Christmas.

As soon as Elena got back to the house, she began taking out her decorations and setting them on the table. Deciding she would begin by hanging the garland on the mantel by the fireplace, she grabbed her phone and found a Christmas playlist. It was not long before she felt the distinct breeze of a certain grumpy vampire's entrance.

"Hello, Elena."

"Damon," she answered.

"What are you doing?"

Elena knew that Damon was against this idea. She knew that she had to stand her ground, no matter what tactics he tried to use on her. She decided to go with an assertive, slightly sassy approach. "I'm hanging up Christmas decorations. What does it look like?"

"It looks like you are going against my very specific wishes not to hang up Christmas decorations."

"And I told you that just because you have decided to be a Scrooge, that doesn't mean that I have to."

"Elena," he probed. "You're fairly new here, so I don't know if you know this, but Christmas is not the time to mess with me, okay?"

"Damon, I need this, okay? This year has just been one whirlwind after another and I just really need something to celebrate, okay?"

"We have not celebrated Christmas in this house since 1864!"

She was hoping she could avoid this, but clearly it was the last piece of ammunition she had left. "Yes, but it's my house now, Damon! Remember? You signed it over to me!"

He was about to blow. She could see that. This wasn't going to be pretty. "Just because the deed is in your name, that doesn't mean this house still isn't mine. I grew up here, Elena! It's still my rules!"

"Okay, but I—"

"Shh!" Damon exclaimed in the middle of her rebuttal. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what? Damon, if this is some kind of vampire trickery to end this argument, it's not going to work!"

"No, seriously," he told her, placing his hand on her arm. "I heard something. Stay here. I'll go check it out."

"Fine," Elena replied exasperatedly. "Go check it out."

"I will," Damon replied, all usual sarcasm out of his voice.

He was gone for a couple minutes before he found something. "Elena?" he calls from the other room.

"Yeah?"

"When you took over the house, as you so forcefully pointed out earlier, did you make any maintenance changes to it?"

"Like what?"

"Like a doggy door?"

"What? No, Damon, I didn't put in a doggy door. Why?" She responded as she began walking toward him.

Damon heard her come up behind him and turned his head to face her. "Because we have one."

 *** So that's the first chapter! What did you guys think? Good? Bad? Leave me reviews! Also, if you like Degrassi or Austin & Ally, or if you are Australian and watch Home & Away (or if you are not Australian and just like Australian soap operas like me), please feel free to check out some of my other stories! **

**Thanks, everyone! I hope you enjoyed the story and decide to keep reading!**

 **Oh, and MERRY CHRISTMAS! :)**

 **~You'veGotMeAndJesus**


	2. Chapter 2

***Author's Note: Hey, everyone! Thanks for continuing to read my story! Just in case the premise of the story was not obvious based on the title, you are about to be hit with the plot of this story. I hope you like it!**

Chapter Two:

"What?" Elena questioned. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know, Elena. Did you invite Tyler and his little werewolf friends over?"

"No, I didn't," Elena scoffed. "I'm serious, Damon. There has to be a logical explanation for this."

An explanation there was. It took Damon a moment to figure it out; but once he did, his face quickly turned to one of disgust. "I can only think of one explanation for this. But honey, it ain't logical." Almost as if the creature heard him, Damon heard the distinct sound of a dog barking upstairs. "Oh no," Damon responded.

"Damon, what is going on?"

Damon's face scrunched up in disgust once more. "Mistletoe." Just before Elena was about to ask him if he was a little low on his blood intake for the day, he darted upstairs. When Elena found him, he was standing in the doorway of his room. Sitting on the floor next to him was what appeared to be just your everyday puppy. However, even though Elena had not been in this supernatural world for very long, she knew that it was way more than a puppy.

Deciding stating the obvious was the best way to begin this conversation, she said, "That looks like a puppy."

"It is a puppy. She's just been a puppy for hundreds of years," Damon replied simply.

Elena squatted down on the ground so the puppy would come toward her. It was a gorgeous little puppy. She had fluffy, white fur and big, beady eyes. She had floppy ears and Elena was sure that if she rolled up into a ball, she'd mistake her for a snowball. Elena also noticed that the puppy had a red collar and a green bone attached with writing on it. As the puppy got closer, she realized that the silver writing read "Mistletoe."

"Her name is Mistletoe? That is adorable!" she exclaimed as she picked up the puppy. "Wait, I thought dogs didn't like vampires. Aren't they your enemies because they are descended from wolves or something?" (1)

"Not this one. Mistletoe is special. It would be beneficial for this situation though."

"Is she going to turn into some soul-sucking, creepy monster thing?"

"Worse."

"Okay, well what is it then?"

Damon looked at her with a face that she wasn't used to seeing. It was a face that he generally tried to hide. It was the face of concern. "You're not going to like it."

"I don't like a lot of things, but I still have to deal with them," she responded.

"Ouch! Elena, that hurts." She smiled slyly at him before continuing to press him. "What is happening?"

"Okay, here's the deal. Yes, the dog's name is Mistletoe, but it's not adorable. Mistletoe was born on Christmas day hundreds of years ago. The legend is that two people who were constantly at each other's throats—literally—suddenly fell in love as soon as the puppy was born. It's dumb, I know."

"Dumb? That is the cutest thing I think I've ever heard! But what does that have to do with us? Why is she here?"

"This is the part you're not going to like." He paused for a moment and just looked at her. This was not going to go well. "I'm so sorry, Elena."

She could sense that he was experiencing genuine remorse. "Damon, it's okay," she responded gently. "What is it?"

He breathed a deep sigh and continued. "Every Christmas season, Mistletoe comes to visit someone new. The story is that whoever the two people are that Mistletoe chooses to come to will fall in love by Christmas."

 **(1) I don't know if this is actually true, but it made sense to me that it could be**

 **So that was chapter two! Leave me reviews and tell me what you liked or didn't like. I'm open to constructive criticism! Next chapter coming soon! Thanks for reading!**

 **~You'VeGotMeAndJesus**


	3. Chapter 3

***Author's note: Hey, guys! Just in case anyone is curious, Mistletoe is a Maltese breed. Google them. They're pretty adorable. I know my chapters are pretty short. I don't usually write them this short, but I honestly feel that it's where they cut off the best. Hopefully the fact that I am updating frequently makes up for that? Anyway, this gets a little intense. Thanks for reading!**

Chapter Three:

Elena was taken aback. She had just lost Stefan. He was God knows where and now she was expected to fall in love with his brother? In four days? Four days! How could she do that? She still loved Stefan and they were going to find him. What would he say if he knew about this? This was not going to happen. She was not going to let it.

This was the last thing that Damon wanted. Of course he loved her; there was no question about that. But it's always been Stefan. He loved Katherine, but it had always been Stefan. He loved Elena, but it had always been Stefan. Katherine was another story, but Elena really belonged with Stefan. As much as he cared for her, Damon had accepted that and he didn't want to take that from her. He would love for the two of them to fall madly in love and never look back, but it had to be her move. She had to be the one to say she loved him, not Stefan. For once, he needed to feel that love. He needed to feel it before anything happened with her. He did not want to do this to her. He also did not want to do this to himself.

After they both just stood there in their own little worlds for what felt like hours, Damon's reverie was broken by the sound of Elena's footsteps attempting to leave the room. "I'm sorry, Elena. I didn't want it to happen like this," he told her as her back was turned.

She froze in her spot on the floor as she listened to him. As she turned back around to face him, he didn't know what it was he expected to see on her face; but it wasn't what he saw. And he also didn't expect her to say what came next. "Is this some kind of game to you, Damon? You think that just because Stefan is gone, you have free reign to pull crap like this? I can't believe I almost fell for that."

"Elena, what are you talking about?"

"A dog named Mistletoe. I bet her name is actually Roxie and you compelled one of the neighbors to let you borrow her."

At this, Damon started walking toward her. "Wait a second. You think I'm making this up?" he questioned defensively.

"How stupid do you think I am, Damon? You're in love with me, but I'm in love with your brother. So naturally, as soon as Stefan goes MIA, you decide to make your move. It's what you do. You said you were going to help find him, Damon. Or were you just going to lead us on a wild vampire chase and make sure I never found him? Was that your plan all along?"

He was getting seriously angry now, and she could tell. He was breathing heavily and his shoulders were raising and lowering in an attempt to hold it in. His hands were balled in fists and his teeth were clenched. Suddenly, he walked away from her and punched a hole in the wall behind her. "Elena, I highly suggest you leave now. Leave before I do something that I regret."

"That's your problem, Damon. You have no regrets," she responded coldly as she turned around to go upstairs.

Damon took one big, deep breath in an attempt to stop seeing red. How could she think that? I mean sure, it does sound like something he would do, but he wouldn't do it to her. Not her. Surely she had to know that. As he went to go pour himself a drink and sit in his chair in the den, the puppy nipped at his ankles. Damon picked up the dog, stared into her eyes, and said "You are so lucky we are in between vampire take-downs right now. You've certainly got you're work cut out for you. Good thing I love her."

Even though this particular dog was supposed to be fine with vampires, that did not account for Damon's pre-vampire disdain toward dogs. This feeling was only amplified when Mistletoe decided to lick Damon's cheek. He immediately put the dog down on the ground to go wash his face in the bathroom. When he returned, he expected the dog to have found a nice spot on the floor to curl up for a nap, or maybe even one of Stefan's shoes to chew on. However, what he found was the dog sitting next to the book shelf.

When she discovered that he had walked back into the room, Mistletoe began barking and wagging her tail at him. He was about to sit in his chair when the dog barked again. It seemed as though the dog was not going to let Damon sit down until he had seen what she wanted him to see. Realizing this, he mumbled something about stupid dogs being so demanding and walked over to the book shelf.

"Fancy a bedtime story, dog?" Damon asked. The dog barked again in response. Just for fun, Damon decided to pull one of the books off of the shelf and put it down next to the dog. He wasn't exactly sure what was going on, so he just stood there and stared at the dog, waiting and wondering what she was going to do next.

When the dog saw the book Damon placed on the ground for her. She looked up at him and pushed the book forward with her paw. Damon stared at her quizzically and, as if she understood, she whined at him while pushing the book farther away from her.

Almost as if _he_ understood _her,_ Damon realized that this was not the book the dog was looking for. He picked the book up off the floor, replaced it, grabbed the one next to it, and set it on the floor next to the dog, only to get the same reaction. He did this several more times. Eventually, he got too tired of putting the book down and picking it back up, so he and the dog formed a new system: he would point to the book and if if wasn't what she wanted she wouldn't do anything. If it was what she wanted, she would bark. At least he hoped that they formed that system. He and this dog seemed to be pretty connected, so he could only hope she understood.

After going through several more books with responses of silence from Mistletoe, he finally realized what it was the puppy must want. "I'm such an idiot!" he proclaimed. The dog barked in agreement. "Yeah, thanks," he responded with his usual snark. "You're a supernatural dog. Of course you don't want to read Shakespeare. You want a supernatural book!" The dog barked again, so he knew that he was on the right track. Damon moved his hand up one shelf and a few books over until he pulled out a book on mythical and supernatural creatures. The dog stood on her hind legs in excitement as Damon lowered the book down to her. Mistletoe looked up at him, wagged her tail, barked at him as if to say thank you, grabbed the book by the corner of its binding, and dragged it up the stairs with her to see Elena.

 **There you go, guys! Three chapters down. I think that one was a little longer than the others? I hope so. Favorite, follow, review, whatever! I mean, not that I can compel you or anything ;)**

 **~You'veGotMeAndJesus**


	4. Chapter 4

***Author's Note: Hey, guys! Here's the next chapter! Thanks for sticking with me!**

Chapter Four:

Elena was not really sure how to feel. This was low even for Damon; and Damon has been pretty low before. Elena wasn't stupid. She knew that whatever Damon wanted, he made sure he got. It's just that it was hard for her sometimes. Every once in a while, she got to feeling like the two of them were in a really good place; but then he usually did something or said something to ruin it within a few days or so. Every time he did it, it cut her a little bit deeper. Every time, it was something a little more unbelievable. Something a little more unforgivable.

Elena was broken out of her thoughts when she heard the light patter of paws running to her spot of solace. When she looked up, however, she saw something she wasn't expecting to see. She saw the dog carrying a book in her teeth. The book seemed to be way too big for her to fit in her little puppy mouth. When Mistletoe reached her, she dropped the book at her feet, stared up at her, and let out a single bark.

"What are you doing, girl?" Elena cooed at the dog. Mistletoe barked again in response. She placed one small paw on top of the book and continued to stare at Elena with literal puppy-dog eyes. "Do you want me to look at that?" Once the dog barked again, Elena picked up the book and started turning pages.

But how did she even get ahold of this? Elena knew how anal Damon was about his book collection: no book was ever out of place. There weren't any of his books lying around in other rooms or even in the same room. Everything had to be put back where it was found. What did the dog do? Jump on the bookshelf and pull it down?

As she began reading, Mistletoe took it upon herself to jump up onto the chair and into Elena's lap. Elena didn't see how any of this was relevant. She was reading about all sorts of different creatures and curses, but nothing stuck out to her. It wasn't until she came across something sticking out of the book that she suddenly knew exactly where to look. She looked down at Mistletoe, who seemed to have a strange twinkle in her eye, and skipped to that page.

When she turned there, the first thing she saw was a large picture of a dog very similar to Mistletoe. As she began reading, her stomach began to drop. She read about a puppy born on Christmas, archenemies becoming lovers unexplainably, and how she continues to visit someone new. When she looked down at the puppy, she realized that she had something else in her mouth. It was what was sticking out of the book to mark the page.

It was mistletoe.

Damon was telling the truth.

Deep down in her heart, Elena knew that. It was no secret that Damon was capable of going to whatever means necessary in order to get what he wanted. Of course it would be logical for her to come to that conclusion. But she didn't blow up at him the way she did because she believed in what she was saying. She did it because she needed an excuse not to believe his story.

Damon and Elena had gone back and forth for ages. And yes, there was something between them. The problem was that the feelings she had for Damon paled in comparison to the feelings she had for Stefan.

Or so she thought.

This little four-legged elephant in the room was beginning to make her think differently.

Did she love Stefan more than Damon? Or was Stefan just easier to swallow? Every girl goes for the bad boy because she thinks she can change them, but Elena had already been through enough without all of Damon's intensity. She didn't need it.

She needed Stefan.

Stefan was everything she needed in her life. He was calm, he was nice, he was passionate, he loved her with everything he had, and he was easy.

He was the one she wanted to want.

But with everything going on with Mistletoe, Elena was having trouble deciding what she really wanted. Another part of the reason she hadn't acknowledged her feelings for the other Salvatore brother was because she knew that every girl he liked, she had always liked Stefan more. Katherine messed with both of their heads, but she only really loved Stefan. Damon did so much for her because he thought they would be together again only to discover that it had always been Stefan. And now, the same thing was happening here. Damon had done so much for Elena to keep her safe. He'd also done some pretty horrible things to the people she loved, but it was only because of the love that was eating away at him. Elena knew that Damon had felt strong feelings for her, but she did everything she could to delay the agony that would occur on both of their parts. She thought that if she suppressed the feelings that she had for Damon, maybe he wouldn't have had to make her choose. Maybe he wouldn't have to hear her say it, like a broken record that had been playing in his head since 1864:

It has always been Stefan.

But maybe now she wouldn't have to make that choice. Elena wasn't much for religion, but she did believe that everything happened for a reason. According to the legend, whatever pair Mistletoe chose to visit had to fall in love by Christmas. Wouldn't that essentially eliminate the choice? Would Stefan be okay with it if he knew that it was out of her control?

No!

No, she was not going to allow herself to think like that. She picked up the dog, stared into her eyes, and said, "You are not going to be my scapegoat. I will not choose Damon because you force me to. We've found plenty of loopholes over the years. This will be my decision," Elena forcefully announced, more to herself than to the dog.

Elena put the dog on the ground, got up from her chair, and went downstairs to find Damon.

 **So that was the end of chapter four! What do you guys think so far? Good? Bad? Let me know how you feel in the form of a review, favorite, follow, or whatever it is you guys do! Thanks!**

 **~You'veGotMeAndJesus**


	5. Chapter 5

***Author's Note: Hey, guys! I hope you all had a very merry Christmas or whatever it is you celebrate! Just a disclaimer: this one is going to be a short one. I've got somewhere I need to be tonight otherwise I'd try to make it a little longer. Thanks so much for reading!**

Chapter Five:

"Damon!" he heard her shout from the top of the stairs. "Damon!" Damon stood up from his chair and met Elena at the bottom of the stairs. When she saw him, she took a breath and, much to his surprise, she wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug. "I'm so sorry, Damon. I really don't know what I was thinking," she told him. He could tell that she was trying to hold back her tears.

"Hey, it's okay, Elena," Damon replied, smoothing her hair with his hand in an attempt to comfort her. "If I were you, I probably would've come to the same conclusion."

"But Damon, I shouldn't have assumed the worst of you. Friends shouldn't do that."

Damon let go of the hug, held her out at arm's length, and explained to her, "Elena, seriously. It's fine. Most of the time you should assume the worst from me. I wouldn't expect this time to be any different."

"Okay," she responded.

"But there is one thing that you need to know." Damon moved one of his hands to cup her cheek and looked her straight in the eye. "You were right. I do love you. And generally, I would do whatever it would take to get what I want. But I love you and I know how vulnerable you are right now because of what's going on with Stefan. You have to believe me, Elena. I would never do that to you. I know I've done a lot of horrible stuff to you, but I would not do something like that. I don't want this for you."

Elena looked at him quizzically. "You don't?"

"No, of course not. Elena, I know how much you care for Stefan. I hate that what is going on right now is making you feel obligated to neglect that. Obviously I would love for you to tell me that you love me so I can whisk you off somewhere and never let you go; but I want you to want that too. I know what it's like to try to force someone to feel the way you do. No matter what you do, it's never enough. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. I don't want to have that with you."

"I really appreciate that, Damon. I'm just really confused right now about what I'm feeling. I do care for Stefan, but I think I might care for you too. But hearing me say that would destroy him. It wasn't supposed to be like this. I wish I had more time to figure all of this out."

"I know. I'm so sorry it had to happen like this."

"Damon?"

"Yes?"

"I promise I'm not trying to offend you when I ask this, but do you think it would be easier for Stefan to take if he knew that Mistletoe was involved?"

Damon took both of his hands in hers, let out a sigh, and began to give her an answer. "I was really hoping it wasn't going to come to this. Listen carefully. Mistletoe is a supernatural creature, but she isn't magic. She doesn't just choose random people to fall in love for no reason. She chooses people because there's a history there. She chooses them because she can sense the inevitable."

Elena was a little taken aback by this new information. "So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that if you are asking me if telling Stefan that you chose me because the dog made you would lessen the blow, then the answer is no. Mistletoe isn't going to force you to make a decision, Elena. She's just going to reveal the decision you were already going to make. Maybe even the decision you've already made." Damon gave Elena one last knowing look before moving to return to his place in the den. He said one final thing as he turned around to face her. "Whatever is meant to be, it will be. Don't worry about what the other one of us will think. One of us is just going to have to love you enough to let you go. Look inside yourself, Elena. You'll find the answer."

With that, he continued his return to his chair and his drink.

 **So, that's chapter five! The next chapter may be the last one. It also might be the one after that. It just depends on where my imagination decides to lead me that day :) So leave comments, favorites, follows, or nothing at all. Let me know how I'm doing! Thanks, guys!**

 **~You'veGotMeAndJesus**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Hey, guys! Thanks so much for hanging with me through this story! Unfortunately, this is the last chapter of A Puppy Named Mistletoe. Hopefully I will find inspiration to write more stories for Vampire Diaries. Until then, feel free to check out my other stuff! Thanks, guys!**

Chapter Six:

It had been several days since the last conversation between Elena and Damon. She needed space to think and he did not desire to get in her way. It was now Christmas Eve, a mere few hours until Christmas.

A few hours until Elena was supposed to fall in love with Damon.

Who would have thought that Elena would be placed in this position? One month ago, she was madly in love with Stefan; but now she found herself questioning everything she has ever felt. Damon said that Mistletoe was only supposed to give her a nudge into the direction she was supposed go to all along. That meant that even if Mistletoe hadn't shown up and turned her entire world upside down, she would have eventually wound up picking Damon over Stefan. The mere idea of this should have sent her reeling. She should have been disgusted. She should have been determined to find a way out of this crazy supernatural voodoo.

But she wasn't.

Elena wasn't any of these things. When she thought about the possibility of being with Damon rather than Stefan, she was not disgusted.

It almost felt natural.

But how could this be the case? Elena had such strong feelings for Stefan. In all the craziness that has been going on, that was one thing she was sure of.

But could her feelings for Damon be stronger?

She was starting to wonder if perhaps there was some truth to what she was thinking earlier: she had been suppressing the feelings she had for Damon for so long that she never even realized how strong they actually were. If she was being honest with herself, she had been having to try extra hard to repel these feelings since Stefan had been gone.

But what does that mean? What does that say about her relationship with Stefan? Would it be the same if Damon was the one who was missing? Would that be all it would take for her heart to wander?

Somehow she felt like it wouldn't be the same. Maybe that was because her love wasn't the same.

But Stefan came back to Mystic Falls for her. Well, at least he stayed in Mystic Falls for her. He had suffered so much since he had been back. He lost his best friend. He's been able to get through all of it because he has had her. If she fell in love with Damon, would all of that suffering have meant nothing?

She didn't want to hurt him. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that hurting him was inevitable. Now that she had taken the time to recognize the feelings that she had for the other Salvatore brother, she didn't know if she could continue to hide them. She could continue to shove more and more of her emotions into a box, but that box would eventually burst open.

Her feelings for him were now far too big to fit inside any box.

Slowly but surely, Elena Gilbert was beginning to come to terms with the fact that she loved Damon Salvatore. She didn't enjoy being put in this position and having to hurt one of the most special people in her world. She didn't enjoy thinking about what Stefan was going to do when he found out. She didn't even enjoy the fact that she was in love with someone as crazy and impulsive as Damon. Yet, for some reason, she felt peace.

The clock read 11:59. She had one more minute until Christmas and there was no time to lose. Elena got up from her spot on the bed and raced down the stairs.

"Damon!" she shouted, desperate to find him as fast as possible. "Damon!"

He came running when he heard her shouting. Once again, in a manner similar to a few days prior, he met her at the bottom of the steps. "Elena! What is it?"

Elena looked down to see Mistletoe barking and nipping at her heels. Of course she would be just as excited as she was. "I'm ready, Damon," she said clearly and without reservation.

"Ready for what?"

She simply smiled at him and said, "I'm ready to fall in love with you."

In the background of their bliss, both could hear little Mistletoe escaping the house through the doggy door.

 **So that's it! Thanks so much! Feel free to leave reviews and tell me what you thought! :)**

 **~You'veGotMeAndJesus**


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